MOSCOW, July 26. /TASS/. Low fertility in Russia does not mean that people are insecure about their future, it stems from the fact that the government’s measures geared to improve the demographical situation have a delayed effect, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"No, it cannot," he said when asked whether low birth rate in Russia can be explained by young families’ insecurity about the future. "A similar situation is observed in France, Germany, Spain, Japan - it is even worse in Japan. Regrettably, this is a trend. It has its roots in Russia," he said, adding that the situation is rooted in "those demographic pitfalls linked both with the Great Patriotic War (the Eastern Front during WWII where the former Soviet Union fought against Nazi Germany - TASS) and the period of the collapse of the Soviet Union, one of the biggest geopolitical catastrophes in our country’s history."
"But today, a range of measures are being taken. The thing is that demography is an area where measures cannot have an immediate effect, they have a delayed effect," Peskov stressed. "The demographic situation will continue to be difficult for some time but a lot of efforts are being make by the government in this area and this issue is among Russia’s top priorities, indeed."
Peskov said earlier that the birth rate in Russia is around 1.4, which is catastrophic for the nation’s future. "We live in the largest country in the world. And there are fewer of us every year. We can reverse the situation only through boosting the birth rate. It is at an awfully low level - 1.4. It is compatible to that in European countries, Japan, and so on. But this is catastrophic for the nation’s future," he said.